Princess Sissi

Last updated
Princess Sissi
Princess Sissi Logo.png
"Princess Sissi" title screen
Also known asSaban's Sissi the Princess
Genre Adventure
Drama
Historical
Romance
Created by Bruno Bianchi
Directed byBruno Bianchi
Richard Pare
Voices of Terri Hawkes
Terrence Scammell
Jacob Tierney
Rick Jones
Michael Caloz
Sonja Ball
Mark Camacho
Opening theme
  • Season 1
  • "Rien ni personne", performed by Douchka Esposito
  • Season 2
  • "Si simplement Sissi", performed by Douchka Esposito
  • English
  • "Nobody Else", performed by Sonja Ball
Ending theme
  • Season 1
  • "Si simplement Sissi"
  • Season 2
  • "Rien ni personne"
  • English
  • "Let Me Be Myself and Stay", performed by Sonja Ball
Composers
Country of originFrance
Canada
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes52
Production
Executive producer Vincent Chalvon-Demersay
Running time30 minutes
Production companies Saban International Paris
Animation Ciné-Groupe J.P. Inc.
ARD Degeto
RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana
Original release
Network Fox Kids (International)
RAI (Italy)
France 3 (France)
Das Erste (Germany)
ReleaseOctober 29, 1997 (1997-10-29) 
1998 (1998)

Princess Sissi (French : Princesse Sissi, Italian : La Principessa Sissi, also known as Saban's Sissi the Princess) is a children's animated series. It debuted on October 29, 1997 [1] on France 3 and within the same time in Italy on Rai 1, and later premiered in Canada on Radio-Canada on September 5, 1998. A co-production between Saban International Paris, Animation Ciné-Groupe J.P. Inc., ARD Degeto, France 3 and RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana, the series is loosely based on the life of the Austrian Empress Elisabeth, nicknamed "Sissi". [2]

Contents

Story

A unique Bavarian girl, Sissi's, life changes forever after the day she meets the charming and noble princes, Franz and Karl. It doesn't take long until Sissi and Franz fall in love and start to make plans for a future together, but there are so many people trying to make sure that the magnificent wedding day is delayed and postponed several times. Sissi and Franz must face jealousy, deceit, treason, and danger between the fronts of Austria and Hungary.

Episodes

Season 1

No.TitleWritten byStory byOriginal airdate
1"Sissi Gets Her Way"Catherine Guillot-BontéDab SivalonOctober 29, 1997 (1997-10-29)
Sissi and her family make preparations to welcome Duke Max home, when Sissi finds her twin brothers are missing. She finds them up a mountain searching for something special to give to their father upon his return. The duke returns with presents for the family, including a puppy Sissi calls Shadow. After Duke Max aids in a village fire, the evil Count Arkas wrongfully arrests the estate agent Broner.
2"The Unexpected Guests"Claude ScassoNatalie AltmannTBA
3"An Imperial Surprise"Jean-Pierre LiccioniDab SivalonTBA
4"Possi's Little Thief"Marie-Odile HannsNatalie AltmannTBA
5"Helena The Terrible"Jean-Pierre LiccioniDab SivalonTBA
6"Time To Say Good-bye"Annabelle PerrichonNatalie AltmannTBA
7"Taking Changes"TBATBATBA
8"An Unusual Woodsman"TBATBATBA
9"Arkas Gets His Revenge"TBATBATBA
10"The Innsbruck Kiss"TBATBATBA
11"The Parents Refuse"TBATBATBA
12"A letter From Franz"TBATBATBA
13"The Engagement Ball"TBATBATBA
14"Missed Reunions"TBATBATBA
15"First Steps In The Royal Court"TBATBATBA
16"A Gilded Cage"TBATBATBA
17"The Zaniouchka Circus"TBATBATBA
18"The Mirror's Secret"TBATBATBA
19"An Eventful Christmas"TBATBATBA
20"The Fortress"TBATBATBA
21"Running Against Time"TBATBATBA
22"Lover's Tif"TBATBATBA
23"They've Stolen Tempest"TBATBATBA
24"A Well-deserved Victory"TBATBATBA
25"Danger At The Prater"TBATBATBA
26"Sissi And Franz Keep Their Promises"TBATBATBA

Season 2

No.TitleWritten byOriginal airdate
1"The Tiara Is Gone"Danielle Aubry and Claude Scasso (story)TBA
2"The Opera Caper"François GaschetTBA
3"Sissi's Sacrifice"Claude ScassoTBA
4"Hooray Erzsebet!"Dab Sivalon and Claude ScassoTBA
5"Jealousy"Annabelle PerrichonTBA
6"Good-bye Budapest"Annabelle PerrichonTBA
7"Possi Must Be Saved"TBATBA
8"Sissi And The Apaches"TBATBA
9"Hard Times"TBATBA
10"The Mysterious Horsewoman"TBATBA
11"Hide And Seek At Schonbrunn"TBATBA
12"The Great Chase"TBATBA
13"Confessions In Venice"TBATBA
14"Ahriman Island"TBATBA
15"The Shipwreck"TBATBA
16"Arkas' Prisoners"TBATBA
17"Private Sissi"TBATBA
18"Sissi In The Eye Of The Storm"TBATBA
19"The Three Pigeons"TBATBA
20"Be Careful Princess"TBATBA
21"Tommy's Mystery"TBATBA
22"Arkas Never Gives Up"TBATBA
23"Dr. Fritz's Elixer"TBATBA
24"Prince Fritz"TBATBA
25"The Double-Crossed Game"TBATBA
26"The Triumph Of Love"TBATBA

Production

Officially a France-Canada co-production (as stated in the closing credits), the writing for the series was primarily done in France, while producers from the United States and Italy also had input on the scripts. Having writing discussions among representatives of four countries often resulted in differing opinions, sometimes directly opposing one another. According to episode writer Claude Scasso  [ fr ]: [3]

The episodes would have logically been written half in France and half in Canada but the fact is all the story and developments of the arches were made in France. And I was led to rewrite several times Canadian scenarios that were not up to the standard without getting credit for it.

Obviously, their authors were working too far away from our energy that was in perpetual motion; ideas did not circulate well.

The texts were reread and discussed not only in France and Canada but also by the Italian co-producers and the U.S. broadcaster. This often led to lots of contradictory remarks: the French commented more on the structure ... The Italians wanted romance to always be present, the Canadians were not involved much and the Americans were obsessed with anything that might offend the young audience ...

I remember one of my episodes that the Italians had found too violent and the Americans too romantic. I gathered that I didn't have to change anything, it was perfect.

While the story features many genuine historical figures, their roles were often changed and numerous plot points were invented for the series when the real story was found to be lacking adventure. Major events such as Sissi's trip to Paris, her father's exile, and even an imminent Austro-Hungarian war were added largely for this purpose. Scasso notes that the latter addition proved particularly fascinating and exciting to the American producers. [3]

Release

Broadcast

The series aired on Fox Kids stations in Latin America and Europe. The series also rebroadcast on Jetix Play in the regions it broadcast in. The series was aired in the Philippines on GMA Network in 2000.

The series briefly aired in the United States on girlzChannel, and in Canada on Teletoon.

Home media

VHS

In France between 1997 and 1999, PolyGram Video (and later Universal Pictures Video) released five VHS volumes of the series, containing three episodes each. [4]

In the United Kingdom, two volumes containing two episodes each, titled "Sissi in Possenhofen" [5] and "Imperial Guests" [6] were released on January 14, 2000 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

DVD

As with many other Saban Entertainment series, the only major English-language DVD release is by Czech distributor North Video, featuring both Czech and English audio and original video (with English-language text) in the original production order. All 52 episodes were released on 16 volumes, from June 4 [7] to December 18, 2010. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Empress Elisabeth of Austria</span> Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary from 1854 to 1898

Elisabeth, nicknamed Sisi or Sissi, was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Franz Josef I of Austria on 24 April 1854 until her assassination in 1898.

<i>X-Men: The Animated Series</i> American animated superhero television series

X-Men: The Animated Series, also known as X-Men, is an animated superhero television series aired in the United States for five seasons from October 31, 1992, to September 20, 1997, on Fox's Fox Kids programming block. It was Marvel Comics' second attempt at an animated X-Men television series after the pilot X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men was not picked up. Set in the same fictional universe as Spider-Man (1994–1998), Earth-92131, it was followed by a revival, X-Men '97, which began airing on March 20, 2024, on Disney+ to critical acclaim.

<i>Spider-Man</i> (1994 TV series) American animated television series

Spider-Man, also known as Spider-Man: The Animated Series, is an American superhero animated television series based on the Marvel Comics superhero of the same name. The series aired on the Fox Kids Network from November 19, 1994, to January 31, 1998, for a total of five seasons comprising 65 episodes, and ran reruns on Toon Disney's Jetix block and on Disney XD. The series was produced by Marvel Films and animated by TMS-Kyokuichi.

<i>Gadget & the Gadgetinis</i> 2002 animated television series

Gadget & the Gadgetinis is an animated television series and the sequel of the 1983 series Inspector Gadget. The series was a co-production between Fox Kids Europe, DIC Entertainment Corporation, French animation studio SIP Animation, French broadcaster M6 Métropole Télévision, the British Channel 5 and the Italian Mediatrade S.p.A. The show was first screened at MIPTV 2002.

What's with Andy? is an animated children's television series loosely based on the semi-autobiographical Just! book series by Australian author Andy Griffiths. The series is produced by CinéGroupe and aired on Teletoon, with various Disney-affiliated foreign studios and networks involved throughout the production of the series.

<i>Samurai Pizza Cats</i> American animated television series

Samurai Pizza Cats is an American animated television show produced by Saban Entertainment. It is an adaptation of the anime series Kyatto Ninden Teyandee, produced by Tatsunoko Production and Sotsu Agency, which originally aired in Japan on TV Tokyo from February 1, 1990 to February 12, 1991 for a total of 54 episodes. Saban picked up the North American rights to the series in 1991 and produced a 52-episode English adaptation.

Shuki Levy is an Israeli-American music composer and television producer. Levy created soundtrack compositions for children's television programs of the 1980s, such as The Real Ghostbusters, Inspector Gadget, The Mysterious Cities of Gold, M.A.S.K., Dinosaucers, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, She-Ra: Princess of Power, and Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors. In the 1990s, he worked on the Power Rangers franchise, Digimon: Digital Monsters, Masked Rider, VR Troopers, and Big Bad Beetleborgs. He has also written and directed episodes for some these television shows, and directed a few films, such as Perfect Victims (1988) and Blind Vision (1991). He was also part of the musical duo Shuky & Aviva, with his partner Aviva Paz.

Code Lyoko is a French anime-influenced animated series created by Thomas Romain and Tania Palumbo and produced by Antefilms Production and MoonScoop for Cartoon Network, France 3 and Canal J, with the participation of Conseil Général de la Charente, Pôle Image Magelis, Région Poitou-Charentes and Wallimage. The series centers around a group of teenagers who travel to the virtual world of Lyoko to battle against a malignant artificial intelligence known as X.A.N.A., who threatens Earth with powers to access the real world and cause trouble. The scenes in the real world employ traditional animation with hand-painted backgrounds, while the scenes in Lyoko are presented in 3D CGI animation. The series began its first 97-episode run on September 3, 2003, on France's France 3, and ended on November 10, 2007 and on Cartoon Network in the United States on April 19, 2004 and ended in 2008 after it’s final seven episodes aired online at Cartoon Network video.

<i>Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders</i> Television series

Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders, also known outside of North America as Starla & the Jewel Riders and sometimes spelled as the more traditionally Arthurian "Guinevere", is an American fantasy animated television series aimed at a pre-teen girl audience and produced by Bohbot Entertainment in association with Hong Ying Animation Company Limited. It was internationally syndicated by Bohbot on their syndicated Amazin' Adventures block, where it originally ran from 1995 to 1996, with two seasons and twenty-six episodes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Wasserman</span> American singer-songwriter

Ronald Aaron Wasserman, also known as Aaron Waters and The Mighty Raw, is an American musician who composed the original theme songs for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and X-Men: The Animated Series. He was also a member of the band Fisher.

<i>Sissi</i> (film) 1955 film by Ernst Marischka

Sissi is a 1955 Austrian historical romance film written and directed by Ernst Marischka and starring Romy Schneider, Karlheinz Böhm, Magda Schneider, Uta Franz, Gustav Knuth, Josef Meinrad, Vilma Degischer and Peter Weck. Sissi is the first installment in the trilogy of films about Empress Elisabeth of Austria, who was known to her family as "Sisi". It was followed by The Young Empress and Fateful Years of an Empress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BVS Entertainment</span> American television production company

BVS Entertainment, Inc., previously known as Saban Productions, Saban Entertainment and Saban International, is a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company. Founded on April 24, 1980, as a music production company by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy, it slowly transitioned to or gravitated towards television production and distribution, where it is most known for producing and distributing children's programs for Fox Family/ABC Family and defunct channels Fox Kids and Jetix.

Jetix Europe N.V. was a European television broadcasting company that owned children's television channels and programming blocks across the Europe and Middle East, such as Jetix and Jetix Play.

<i>The Bellflower Bunnies</i> French animated series

The Bellflower Bunnies is a French animated series based on the Beechwood Bunny Tales book series by Geneviève Huriet. The show debuted on TF1 with four episodes airing between December 24 and December 28, 2001. It is a co-production between France's TF1 and several Canadian companies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rai Fiction</span> Italian production company

Rai Fiction is an Italian production company founded in 1997. Owned and operated by Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI), the national broadcasting company of Italy, the company produces content for Rai's channels, producing animations, sitcoms, and other programmes. Rai Fiction also works in association with foreign production studios and TV channels as well as other production companies in Italy.

Mondo TV is an Italian production and television distribution company. Founded by Orlando Corradi in 1985 and based in Rome, Mondo TV is a public company, quoted on the STAR segment of the Italian main stock exchange, Borsa Italiana.

Bruno Bianchi was a French cartoonist, comics artist and animation director. Bianchi worked extensively as an artist, director and producer on animated television productions; including Heathcliff, Iznogoud and most notably, Inspector Gadget, which he also co-created.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SIP Animation</span> Defunct French animation studio

SIP Animation was a French animation studio, and a defunct subsidiary of BVS Entertainment. By 2009, the company had produced over 390 hours of animated content.

<i>Justin Time</i> (TV series) 2011 Canadian TV series or program

Justin Time is a Canadian animated television series created by Brandon James Scott and developed by Frank Falcone, Mary Bredin, and James Scott. The series premiered on September 23, 2011, with the finale airing on June 24, 2016. A total of 76 segments in 39 episodes were produced. The show was broadcast on Disney Junior in Canada, the Sprout channel in the United States, Tiny Pop in the United Kingdom, Mentari TV in Indonesia, TV3 in Malaysia, Rai Yoyo in Italy, TNT in Russia, France 4 in France, RTL Telekids in Netherlands and CBeebies in the United Kingdom.

References

  1. "sissi-n-en-fait-qu-a-sa-tete". inatheque.ina.fr. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  2. Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 99. ISBN   9781476672939.
  3. 1 2 https://web.archive.org/web/20111129115917/http://theredanimation.canalblog.com/archives/2011/03/15/20633998.html
  4. "Sissi Princesse - Vol.1 : Une rencontre Impériale".
  5. "Sissi: Sissi in Possenhofen". Amazon UK. 14 January 2000.
  6. "Sissi: Imperial Guests". Amazon UK. 14 January 2000.
  7. https://www.dvdinform.cz/7816-north-video-princezna-sissi-1/
  8. https://www.filmarena.cz/dvd-princezna-sissi-16